Smoking will be prohibited on Church Street Marketplace in Burlington effective Dec. 17.

The City Council approved the new law with an 11-3 vote in November, but at the time, its effective date had yet to be determined.

With the support of Church Street merchants, councilors sought to protect pedestrians and diners on Church Street from secondhand smoke and promote Burlington's healthy-living brand. The handful of councilors who opposed the measure said it would be unnecessary or too restrictive.

Church Street Marketplace will install signs notifying pedestrians of the ordinance and move ashtrays to the edge of the marketplace, said Ron Redmond, the marketplace's executive director.

The ordinance bans lighted tobacco products and tobacco substitutes such as electronic cigarettes on the brick pavers between Main Street and Pearl Street. Consequences for violations range from a warning to a $100 fine.EARLIER